SueM

I have been teaching and tutoring English language and literature for around 25 years, the last eight years purely as an online tutor. I love helping teenagers grow in confidence in their writing and speaking, developing their creative writing and their general knowledge and raising their vocabulary to a more sophisticated level.

The GCSE papers in language and literature require a combination of creativity and analytical skills which requires students to have an opinion. The difficulty a lot have is that there are no wrong answers.  When you add 2 and 2 together you always get 4, but with English, your opinion may be different from someone else but is just as valid – so long as you back it up with evidence.

I love working with KS3 because this ensures they have a thorough understanding of grammar and punctuation, and how to recognise and apply the literary techniques that writers use, before they reach the GCSE stage where the schools tend to assume it is already known. My qualification as a teacher of English as a Foreign Language means my knowledge of, and ability to teach grammar is excellent.

Literature, however, is my passion. Having students from different areas of the country, means I get to teach different books, plays and poetry every year. This broad range of knowledge means whatever texts your child’s school has chosen, I will be able to help them.

As an online tutor, I have prepared most of my materials and can share them on screen with the student as we work through areas of study.  Everything we look at in the lesson is then sent to them at the end of the lesson by email, copying in the parent, with any homework instructions.

I always check what they are working on at school and especially if they have missed any lessons and need me to cover it.  I want the schools to feel that I am working with them and supporting them and not fighting against them. I have a great deal of respect for the schoolteachers – it is far more difficult than working one to one with a student and focusing specifically on their needs.

I tend to take a more relaxed attitude to teaching teenagers encouraging them to take responsibility for their own study. They are at an age where they often want to rebel against authority, so when they choose to work on something, or they ask for homework, they feel more in control, and it leads to a greater range of learning.

I have not advertised my teaching for about five years as the majority has been word of mouth referral, however, I am now looking at increasing the number of hours as I have more time available.

I have an enhanced DBS for both adults and children. This is because I do a lot of voluntary work with visually impaired adults and caring for pets when owners are on holiday, and I stay in their homes. Unfortunately, because this has been updated annually for the last 9 years and is for both adults and children, the system here cannot use it. I believe they are working on it. In the picture I am holding one of “my” dogs – a very nervous poodle who will accept any amount of cuddles.